Who is this degree for?
Erikson’s teacher licensure program prepares you to teach young children from birth through third grade and receive the Illinois early childhood teaching license.
The program sets a high standard, presenting the latest findings and theories in child development while engaging teacher candidates in critical and reflective thinking about their role and impact on the lives of young children and their families in schools.
Choose a specialization
You can take your study even deeper by adding a specialization:
Bilingual/ESL endorsement
Meet the needs of the increasing number of new language learners in a culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate manner.
Early childhood special education letter of approval
Learn to educate students with varying learning abilities, developmental delays, and/or disabilities, especially as more of these learners enter inclusive classrooms and demand for special education teachers remains high.
Requirements
Teacher candidates take a combination of courses in child development and early childhood education, plus teacher preparation courses and methods seminars that meet the state’s teacher licensure requirements. The program can be completed over two or three years.
Internship
Teacher candidates must be available for daytime study and student teaching during their internship year. Student teaching is a full-time, 10-week commitment during spring semester. When not student teaching, candidates spend nine hours per week in the internship and have a biweekly tutorial.
Candidates also complete 150 clock hours of field experience and participation in early childhood programs, as follows:
| Infants/Toddlers | 25 hours |
| Special Education | 25 hours |
| Preschool/Kindergarten | 50 hours |
| Primary Level | 50 hours |
Teacher candidates generally complete these hours in conjunction with course assignments.
Qualifying for licensure
There are several additional requirements set by the Illinois State Board of Education to qualify for the early childhood teaching license.
- The Illinois Test of Academic Proficiency, a prerequisite for admission to teacher candidacy.
- The Illinois Test for Early Childhood, which teacher candidates must pass prior to their yearlong student teaching placement
- The Illinois Assessment of Professional Teaching Standards, which candidates take upon completion of course requirements.
In addition, Erikson’s licensure officer reviews transcripts of all prior undergraduate and graduate course work, along with previous professional experiences, to verify that candidates have the requisite content knowledge in math, science, U.S. history, and U.S. government. Competence in other content areas, including English language arts, social sciences, physical growth and development, and the fine arts, are assessed based on candidates’ performance in Erikson course work.
Course Work
Sample course schedules
Prerequisite Courses:
Core Courses:
- C421 – Human Development I: Psychosocial Development in Infancy and Childhood
- C425 – Physical Growth and Development
- C426 – Development of Cognition, Language, and Play I: Cognitive Development
- C427 – Development of Cognition, Language, and Play II: Language Development
- C432 – Family and Culture
- S410 – Curricular and Instructional Methods in Early Childhood Special Education
- T404 – Teaching and Learning in Diverse Settings: Science and Social Studies
- T405 – Teaching and Learning in Diverse and Inclusive Settings: Reading and Writing
- T406 – Teaching and Learning in Diverse and Inclusive Settings: Mathematics
- T408 – Foundations of American Schooling and Bilingual Education
- T412 – Preschool Curricular Approaches in Diverse and Inclusive Settings
- T438 – Children with Special Needs and Diverse Abilities
- T446 and T447 – Internship, Student Teaching, and Tutorial I and II
- T456 – Integrative Seminar: Classroom Management and Instructional Techniques in Diverse and Inclusive Settings I
- T457 – Integrative Seminar: Classroom Management and Instructional Techniques in Diverse and Inclusive Settings II
- T461 – Assessment for Classroom Teachers
- T466 and T467 – Proseminar for Teacher Candidates I and II
